Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have eight defensive linemen who spent all or part of the 2008 CFL season in Regina.

They’ll have to earn the right to stay here in ’09.

“I prefaced every meeting that I’ve had with guys in the offseason, no matter who it is, with, ‘If you’re successful in competing for a spot on this team . . .,’ and I’ve done that with every single guy,” Roughriders defensive co-ordinator Gary Etcheverry says. “That’s really the way I look at it.”

Having said that, veterans like tackles Scott Schultz (ninth season) and Marcus Adams (seventh), end John Chick (third), and end/tackle Luc Mullinder (sixth) should be on solid footing when the Roughriders open training camp June 7.

Imports Stevie Baggs and Seante Williams are returning for their first full seasons with the Roughriders. So are non-import Keith Shologan (Saskatchewan’s first-round draft pick in 2008 who played two games last season after an NFL tryout) and Canadian end Kevin Scott (a long-snapping specialist who dressed for one game last season).

Non-import Nuvraj Bassi, who also plays offensive line, returns for his second training camp with the Roughriders. The newcomers are imports Gabe Nyenhuis, David Patterson, A.J. Raebel and Joe Sykes, and Regina product Michael Stadnyk, whom the Roughriders took in the second round of the ’08 draft.

“If a player who we only know by name shows up and is clearly better than a player whose name we’re very familiar with, we have to be open to either (a) moving the veteran to another position so this great new player can have an opportunity or (b) determine we’ve significantly upgraded, we’re strong in the other spots, so we move that veteran player,” Etcheverry says. “That’s the harsh reality of this business.

“You’ve either gotta get what you’ve got better or you’ve got to get better.”

If it can be assumed that Adams, Chick and Schultz are locked into their positions, that leaves the other starting end spot up for grabs.

Kitwana Jones, who tied for the team lead with five sacks from that position last season, was traded this offseason to the Edmonton Eskimos. While his non-stop motor will be tough to replace, Roughriders head coach Ken Miller has said Jones’ size may have hindered his chances to win that end spot this season.

That could be good news for bigger-bodied veterans like Mullinder (who played all 18 games in ’08), Williams (eight), Baggs (five) or a newcomer.

Sykes had incredible numbers with the afl2′s Green Bay Blizzard last season, recording a league-leading 22 tackles for losses and 19.5 quarterback sacks along with 49 tackles, eight forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries en route to defensive player-of-the-year honours.

Bassi, Nyenhuis, Patterson, Raebel and Stadnyk also offer size, and Bassi and Stadnyk provide some flexibility with their non-import status.

The Roughriders finished sixth in the CFL last season with 28 sacks, but only 16 of those came from defensive linemen — and the returnees for ’09 had just nine of those.

While sacks weren’t a major factor in the defensive philosophy of former co-ordinator Richie Hall (now the head coach of the Eskimos), Etcheverry likes his defence to get after the quarterback. That doesn’t mean the linemen will get the sacks, but they will be involved.

Overall, Etcheverry hopes to see improvement up front.

“Personnel is not going to be an issue,” he said, tipping his cap to GM Eric Tillman and director of player personnel Joe Womack, “so I feel very comfortable with the people who are going to be competing for the spots.”

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